National 9/11 Museum Will Not Open in 2012 Due to a Financial Dispute

The opening of the long anticipated National September 11 Museum is being pushed back, according to Mayor Bloomberg. Because of an ongoing debate with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the museum has not been able to come to an agreement on which party is to pay for the infrastructure costs of the site. The subterranean museum, designed by Davis Brody Bond Aedas with an entrance pavilion by Snohetta, was slated to open on September 11, 2012.

The amount being disputed is a hefty hundreds of millions of dollars that neither organization thinks they are responsible for. The argument starting slowing the building process back in November, and the Mayor’s office officially stated yesterday that because of these delays, the museum will not open in 2012. The Port Authority, which owned the World Trade Center and began building the museum, believes that the Memorial Museum Foundation owes it $300 million for construction costs. But the foundation says not only is that amount the responsibility of the Port Authority, but that the Port Authority owes the foundation $140 million due to the project delays. This clash of opinion has been going on for several months, with the Port Authority even threatening to sue the foundation for the incumbent costs.

With construction on the museum almost at a standstill, the memorial itself has still drawn almost one million visitors since September 12th. Mayor Bloomberg is sympathetic to the Port Authority’s budget situation and says they hope to work something out. Bloomberg has not yet said when he anticipates the new opening date for the National September 11 Museum to be.